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1 NUMBERS, FACTS AND TRENDS SHAPING THE WORLD FOR RELEASE: February 11, 2016 BY Aaron Smith FOR MEDIA OR OTHER INQUIRIES: Aaron Smith, Associate Director, Research Dana Page, Senior Communications Manager RECOMMENDED CITATION: Pew Research Center, February, 2016, 15% of American adults have used online dating sites or mobile dating apps

2 1 About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. It does not take policy positions. The center conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. It studies U.S. politics and policy; journalism and media; internet, science and technology; religion and public life; Hispanic trends; global attitudes and trends; and U.S. social and demographic trends. All of the center s reports are available at. Pew Research Center is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder. Pew Research Center 2016

3 2 15% of American adults have used online dating sites or mobile dating apps Throughout human history, people have sought assistance from others in meeting romantic partners and Americans today are increasingly looking for love online by enlisting the services of online dating sites and a new generation of mobile dating apps. A national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 10-July 12, 2015, among 2,001 adults, finds that: 12% of American adults have ever used an online dating site, up slightly from 9% in early % of American adults have ever used a dating app on their cellphone. The share of Americans who use dating apps has increased threefold since early 2013 at that point just 3% of Americans had used these apps. Taken together, a total of 15% of American adults now report that they have used online dating sites and/or mobile dating apps, up from the 11% who reported doing so in early This growth has been especially pronounced for two groups who have historically not used online dating at particularly high levels the youngest adults, as well as those in their late 50s and early 60s. The share of 18- to 24-year-olds who report having used online dating has nearly tripled in the last two years. Today 27% of these young adults report that they have done so, up from just 10% in early Meanwhile, the share of 55- to 64-year-olds who Use of online dating sites or mobile apps by young adults has nearly tripled since 2013 % in each age group who have ever used an online dating site and/or mobile dating app Total Source: Survey conducted June 10-July 12, Throughout this report, we refer to this 15% of Americans as online daters or refer to them as having used online dating.

4 3 use online dating has doubled over the same time period (from 6% in 2013 to 12% in 2015). For young adults in particular, this overall increase in online dating usage has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the use of mobile dating apps. Fully 22% of 18- to 24-year-olds now report using mobile dating apps, a more than fourfold increase from the 5% who reported using dating apps in These young adults are now more likely than any other age group to use mobile dating apps. 41% of Americans know someone who uses online dating; 29% know someone who has met a spouse or long-term partner via online dating Although 15% of Americans have used online dating themselves, a larger share report that they are familiar with online dating from the experiences of people they know. Some 41% of American adults say they know someone who uses online dating, while 29% indicate they know someone who has married or entered into a long-term partnership with someone they met via online dating. As was the case in previous Pew Research Center surveys of online dating, college graduates and the relatively affluent are especially likely to know people who use online dating or to know people who have entered into a relationship that began online. Nearly six-in-ten college graduates (58%) know someone who uses online dating, and nearly half (46%) know someone who has entered into a marriage or long-term partnership with someone they met via online dating. By comparison, just 25% of those with a high school diploma or less know someone who uses online dating and just 18% know someone who has entered into a long-term relationship with someone they met this way. College grads and the affluent especially likely to know someone who met a partner via online dating % within each group who Know someone who uses online dating Know someone who has entered a long-term relationship via online dating All adults 41% 29% High school grad or less Some college College graduate Less than $30k $30k-$75k $75k Source: Survey conducted June 10-July 12, 2015.

5 4 Those who have tried online dating offer mixed opinions about the experience most have a positive outlook, even as they recognize certain downsides Users of online dating are generally positive but far from universally so about the pros and cons of dating digitally. On one hand, a majority of online dating users agree that dating digitally has distinct advantages over other ways of meeting romantic partners: Those with online dating experience are more likely to have positive attitudes towards dating digitally % in each group who agree that Have used online dating Online dating is a good way to meet people Have not used online dating % of Americans who have used online dating agree that online dating is a good way to meet people. 62% agree that online dating allows people to find a better match, because they can get to know a lot more people. 61% agree that online dating is easier and more efficient than other ways of meeting people. Online dating helps people find a better match for themselves Online dating is easier & more efficient than other ways Online dating is more dangerous than other ways of meeting Online dating keeps people from settling down People who use online dating are desperate Source: Survey conducted June 10-July 12, On the other hand, a substantial minority of these users agree that meeting people online can have potential negative consequences: 45% of online dating users agree that online dating is more dangerous than other ways of meeting people. 31% agree that online dating keeps people from settling down, because they always have options for people to date. 16% agree with the statement people who use online dating sites are desperate. But despite these reservations, those who have personally used online dating themselves or know someone who does tend to have much more positive attitudes compared to those with little direct exposure to online dating or online daters. For instance, just 55% of non-users agree that online dating is a good way to meet people, while six-in-ten agree that online dating is more dangerous than other ways of meeting people.

6 5 Overall, men and women who have used online dating tend to have similar views of the pros and cons with one major exception relating to personal safety. Some 53% of women who have used online dating agree that it is more dangerous than other ways of meeting people, substantially higher than the 38% of male online daters who agree with this statement.

7 6 Methodology The analysis in this report is based on a Pew Research Center survey conducted June 10, 2015, through July 12, 2015 among a national sample of 2,001 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Fully 701 respondents were interviewed on a landline telephone, and 1,300 were interviewed on a cellphone, including 749 who had no landline telephone. The survey was conducted by interviewers at Princeton Data Source under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. A combination of landline and cellphone random digit dial samples were used; both samples were provided by Survey Sampling International. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. Respondents in the landline sample were selected by randomly asking for the youngest adult male or female who was at home. Interviews in the cellphone sample were conducted with the person who answered the phone, if that person was 18 years of age or older. For detailed information about our survey methodology, visit: The combined landline and cellphone samples are weighted using an iterative technique that matches gender, age, education, race, Hispanic origin and nativity, and region to parameters from the 2013 Census Bureau s American Community Survey and population density to parameters from the Decennial Census. The sample also is weighted to match current patterns of telephone status (landline only, cellphone only or both landline and cellphone), based on extrapolations from the 2014 National Health Interview Survey. The weighting procedure also accounts for the fact that respondents with both landline and cellphones have a greater probability of being included in the combined sample and adjusts for household size among respondents with a landline phone. The margins of error reported and statistical tests of significance are adjusted to account for the survey s design effect, a measure of how much efficiency is lost from the weighting procedures.

8 7 The following table shows the unweighted sample sizes and the error attributable to sampling that would be expected at the 95% level of confidence for different groups in the survey: Group Unweighted sample size Plus or minus Total Sample 2, percentage points Have used online dating percentage points Have not used online dating 1, percentage points percentage points percentage points percentage points percentage points percentage points percentage points High school grad or less percentage points Some college percentage points College graduate percentage points Sample sizes and sampling errors for other subgroups are available upon request. In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of opinion polls. Pew Research Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

9 8 Appendix: Demographic tables Online dating usage by demographic group % within each group who have ever Used online Used mobile Total, online dating sites dating apps dating user* All adults Men Women High school grad or less Some college College graduate Household income less than $30k $30k-$75k $75k White Black, non-hispanic Hispanic Urban Suburban Rural Source: Survey conducted June 10-July 12, *Note: An online dating user is defined as someone who has used an online dating website and/or mobile dating app

10 9 Topline Questionnaire EMINUSE Do you use the internet or , at least occasionally? INTMOB Do you access the internet on a cellphone, tablet or other mobile handheld device, at least occasionally? USES INTERNET DOES NOT USE INTERNET Current April September August May December November September August April February December August May January DATE1a Have YOU, personally, ever used an online dating site such as Match.com, eharmony, or OkCupid? Based on all internet users CURRENT MAY 2013 SEPT 2005B % 14 Yes No * (VOL.) Don t know * * * (VOL.) Refused * -- [N=1,740] [N=1,895] [N=2,252] DATE2a Have you ever used a dating app on your cellphone? Based on smartphone owners CURRENT MAY 2013 % 13 Yes 7 87 No 93 * (VOL.) Don t know * 0 (VOL.) Refused 0 [N=1,327] [N=934]

11 10 DATE3 [IF DATE1a=YES OR DATE2a=YES: Other than yourself, ] Do you personally know anyone who has... [INSERT ITEMS IN ORDER]? a. Used an online dating site or app YES NO (VOL.) DON T KNOW (VOL.) REFUSED Current * May * September 2005B b. Been in a long-term relationship with or married someone they met through an online dating site or app Current * May * September 2005B DATE4 Many people have different opinions about online dating. Please tell me if you AGREE or DISAGREE with the following statements about online dating. [INSERT ITEMS; RANDOMIZE; ALWAYS ASK a-b TOGETHER, ALWAYS ASK c-d TOGETHER]. [READ FOR FIRST ITEM, THEN AS NECESSARY: Do you agree or disagree with this statement?] a. Online dating is a good way to meet people AGREE DISAGREE (VOL.) DON T KNOW (VOL.) REFUSED Current Total [N=2,001] Current Internet users [N=1,740] May 2013 Total [N=2,252] May 2013 Internet users [N=1,895] September 2005B Internet users [N=2,252] b. Online dating allows people to find a better match for themselves because they can get to know a lot more people Current Total Current Internet users May 2013 Total May 2013 Internet users September 2005B Internet users DATE4 continued...

12 11 DATE4 continued... c. People who use online dating sites are desperate AGREE DISAGREE (VOL.) DON T KNOW (VOL.) REFUSED Current Total Current Internet users May 2013 Total May 2013 Internet users September 2005B Internet users d. Online dating keeps people from settling down because they always have options for people to date Current Total Current Internet users May 2013 Total May 2013 Internet users e. Online dating is easier and more efficient than other ways of meeting people Current Total Current Internet users September 2005B Internet users f. Online dating is more dangerous than other ways of meeting people Current Total Current Internet users

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